Abstract:
Studies have long argued that politics exist in every organization. Theoretical
arguments emphasized that politics often obstruct normal organizational processes and
damage productivity and performance on individual and organizational level. Some political
acts, such as character assassination, are often considered dysfunctional to the organization.
This study aimed to find out the relationship between character assassination and the job
performance of the employees in Hospital X. Specifically, it aimed to find the types of
character assassination prevalent in the organization, the employees job performance, and
the relationship of the frequency or intensity of character assassination with job
performance. Twenty-one staff members and four supervisors of Hospital X volunteered for
the study. It was found that the use of degrading labels is the tactic most prevalent in the
organization, and that most employees have commendable job performance ratings. Using
the Kendall Tau a strong positive correlation between the frequency (1=0.132) and job
performance, and intensity (t=o.O4O) and job performance was found. Future studies to a
larger sample or a different organizational nature is suggested. It is also recommended that
succeeding studies focus on the coping mechanisms of the victims and relate this with job
performance. Gender, as a moderating variable, is also suggested to be further studied on as
links between moderating variables and character assassination may be present.
Ethnographic longitudinal research is also suggested for future studies as it ensures that the
intricacies of character assassination will be discovered without having to subject
participants to a possibly unethical study. This will also allow the researcher to learn about
the organizational culture and possibly look at the role culture plays on organizational
character assassination.
